BHS girls grab 11th straight win

It was expected to be a tough battle between the Baldwin High School and Prairie View girls for King and Queen of Courts night Friday. It wasn't. The Bulldogs pounded PV's Buffaloes 72-49 to chalk up their 11th straight win.

"It was a workman-like effort," said coach Eric Toot. "I thought offensively we were pretty good. We gave up 20 offensive rebounds which made it kind of ugly. They got a lot of second shots.

"But offensively, I thought we played extremely well," said Toot.

Yes, extremely well fit, especially in the first quarter, which really was what determined the outcome of the game. BHS exploded for a 21-8 lead, then added four, four and two points to the margin in the next three quarters. The Bulldog's depth proved to be the difference as they were able to survive foul trouble, while the Buffs weren't.

"We had an excellent first quarter and then just gradually built our lead," he said. "I thought our bench made a big difference. Our depth and their lack of it was very big for us. Our bench played extremely well, especially with the foul trouble we had."

That was out of the ordinary for BHS. Senior starter Anna Skaggs got in foul trouble early and eventually fouled out. Junior starter Emily Brown also had four fouls, but she was still able to pour in a game-high 23 points in the rout.

Also chipping in big was junior Kari Garrison, who was the only other player in double digits with 15 points. But, there was plenty of bench help, especially from freshman Katelyn Miles and juniors Jamie Lawrence and Anna Gillispie.

"I thought Katelyn had a great game," said Toot. "She's so smart that she's picked up four positions as a freshman. That helps as a coach to be able to put her in anywhere. Jamie Lawrence and Anna Gillispie can do that, too, and they helped out Friday as well."

Miles had eight points and Skaggs and Kalie Harris each had six. It also helped that there was a big crowd on hand for the evening's festivities.

"I think playing at home makes us even better. We get in the flow," he said. "Everyone was excited with everything that was going on."

Still, the third-year head coach wasn't pleased with the defense.

"Honestly, I thought we could have played a lot better on defense," said Toot. "But then again, we challenged everything they did and they struggled with that."

That 11th-straight victory improved BHS's record to 14-1 overall on the season and a perfect 6-0 in Frontier League play. To show that Prairie View was no slouch, the Buffs are now 10-4 overall and 4-2 in league.

There will be more league play for the Bulldogs this week, but only one game on Friday. It will be a road game on Valentine's Day.

"We've got just one game this week and that's with Eudora," he said. "They've got Lauren Kracl back now and she's been back for about a month. She's one of the best players in the league.

"They've also got a freshman guard that's going to be a good player," Toot said. "But we have a pretty good freshman, too."

Following the clash with the Cardinals Friday, BHS will have another league bout Tuesday. It will be a home game against long-time nemesis Spring Hill, which is also unbeaten in league play. It's a girls-only night, with the freshmen playing at 5 p.m., followed by the junior varsity at about 6 and the varsity game around 7:30 p.m. All games will be in the junior high gym.